The present invention was first described in Disclosure Document Number 473,677 filed on May 4, 2000. There are no previously filed, nor currently any co-pending applications, anywhere in the world.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to novelty doll devices and the like and, more particularly, to a memorial novelty doll device having integral sound producing means and a kit and method for customizing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The reality of death is something we all must face. While the pain associated with losing a loved one usually fades with time, so do the pleasant memories as well. The favorite sayings, memories, frequent expressions and the general life events that define an individual are thought of only when viewing a photo album, or reminiscing with friends and family members. Such times happen less frequently as the years go by. While audio and tape recordings help as well, they are usually not handy and very seldom played back. Often, younger descendants of the deceased were not even born yet when they died. These people have little to go on when trying to figure out what type of person the deceased was, other than family stories and maybe a few pictures. Many of these same problems occur with living family members who live a distance away and are infrequently seen.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related.
The following patents disclose a miniature tape recorder incorporated in a doll.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,987 issued in the name of Belin et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,561 issued in the name of Pracas
U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,172 issued in the name of Basile
U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,905 issued in the name of Convertine et al.
The following patents describe a speaking toy doll responding by touch or voice recognition.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,428 issued in the name of Curran
U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,602 issued in the name of Rose
U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,653 issued in the name of McKeefery
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,821 issued in the name of Ouellette et al. discloses a bilingual educational doll.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,030 issued in the name of Rose describes two or more dolls with speech synthesizing systems.
Consequently, there is a need for a means by which a deceased person""s memories can be revived on a frequent basis, yet with dignity and respect
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved memorial novelty doll device having integral sound producing means.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a method for individually customizing such an improved memorial novelty such as to render a visually similar characterization of a deceased individual during a memorial service.
Briefly described according to one embodiment of the present invention, the memorial doll is a doll that is custom designed to resemble a specific person, either living or dead. Upon initial observation, the invention resembles a conventional doll that is approximately 16xe2x80x3 tall with a base diameter of three to four inches. After closer inspection however, it can be seen that the physical characteristics of the doll are customized to match a specific person. These characteristics are envisioned to be body shape characteristics, hair color and style, eye color, clothing, and the like. A tape-recording mechanism, either located in the base or the rear of the invention, provides for the recording of the represented person""s voice, if still living, or for the recording of voices by friends or relatives, if deceased. The recording comments are envisioned to be that of favorite memories, expressions, sayings, etc. associated with the represented individual.
The use of the memorial doll allows for the representation of a living person or a means for descendants to remember a deceased member of the family in a respectful manner while keeping past memories alive.